UX Australia

On most objective measures, the design industry is thriving. Our skills are in high demand, our salaries are rising, and companies can’t fill roles fast enough (recent blip notwithstanding). Design leadership has come of age, we’re seeing companies invest in team development, and more and more designers are earning that hallowed “seat at the table”. So why, when I talk to designers, do so many of them feel burnt out and despondent; like all their hard work and effort has been for nothing. It’s as though the design industry is going through some sort of mid-life crisis. In this session design leader, start-up advisor, speaker and coach, Andy Budd, takes us through some of the reasons why we’re experiencing this sense of collective Ennui, and what we can do about it. This talk may make for awkward listening at times. However, unless we can have an open and honest conversation about the behaviors that are holding us back, we’ll never unlock the full potential of what design has to offer.

Information Architecture (IA) is foundational for great usability and user experience. But for IA to become embedded in the product development process, we must use the language of product: what user problems does IA solve and what are the commercial/ organisational benefits? In this talk I will share ideas and approaches on: - A better way to explain IA to product people/stakeholders - How to frame IA work in terms of stories, strategy and metrics

What we learnt about service design living in France

With the worldwide population of adults over the age of 65 growing faster than any other according to the United Nations, considering their voice in designing the 3D embodiment of the internet (the Metaverse) is necessary for moving away from the deficit model of ageing, especially coming out of the pandemic. This presentation advocates for an ethnographic, co-design approach with older adults for those looking to design in a fully immersive space.

As a UXR I spend a lot of time note-taking and would love to share a note-taking strategy that saves my team and I a HEAP of time (and money). The new strategy is visual (which clients love) quick to synthesise (which researchers love) and easily translates findings into design recommendations (which designers love). You can thank me later.

Going smaller, to go bigger: A design system evolution. Over the past 2 years the Atlassian Design System team have been reimagining how a design system needs to evolve to be a force multiplier for good - good for our own team, good for our designers and developers and good for our customers. They’ll share their journey towards unlocking a thriving design system which supports the past, the present and the future all at the same time and how they evolved it to drive both purpose and impact at scale. In a time of economic uncertainty, different design models of what good looks like not only become necessary but essential to fuel the next decade of design system’s growth. We’ll share the highs and lows and wisdom we have gained by going smaller, to go bigger.

When were diamonds first used to describe the design process? When was the first 'how might we' question asked? What were the original steps of 'brainstorming'? Some answers to these questions can be found in a 30 year period in America after the end of World War 2, when parallel intellectual movements centred around creating scientific methodologies for creativity and design thrived. Many of the ideas, principles, and design processes of that age are still with us today. Other answers are much, much older. In this talk, we will do more than describe yet another design process model. Instead, we will explore the historical and cultural origins of the design and creativity methods that are still common in design, and we will explore how they were both informed by and developed in reaction to the emergence of computing and large-scale data management. By the end of the talk, you will have a new perspective on how the origins of our methodologies can embed biased assumptions in the work we do today.

The lack of a moral framework in the design disciple, let alone a set of ethical guidelines, put designers at great risk of doing more harm than good in the world.

Regenerative design. What’s that mean and why should I care? How do I design for regeneration in my own life and design practice? Let's explore practical ways we can design regenerative business, product, and service ideas that customers love - and increase our wellbeing while we do it.

Interested in how government + design + sustainability experts came together to co-design a "world-first" tool to tackle global warming? If so come along to this talk for an up-close look at how we managed to achieve the impossible —> getting agreement on a way forward when all of the experts told us this was NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.

Oh my gosh - the hype about Chat GTP and how it makes exploding your content production efficiency super easy is mental But is it actually based in reality.. Ed note - no, Chat GTP did not write this. Let's look at five examples of how Chat GTP has actually been successfully used and what degree of human intervention is still required. Spoiler alert, it's a LOT.

How to deliver a design project that gets results. Design can make or break a digital transformation project, so it's well worth getting right. Sarah Heimeier has led dozens of successful transformations for some of Australia’s largest financial institutions and leading FinTechs, and in this talk she'll share her winning framework. You'll leave with practical, actionable steps to deliver your project in a way that aligns with your business goals, enables new technology, and has the whole team celebrating.

Discover how design can bridge the gap between young Australians and policymakers to reimagine policy-making for urgent issues like climate change, access to mental health services, and housing affordability. With the Policy Canvas framework, a make-first mindset, and a shareable narrative, you'll learn how to broker better conversations, re-engage young Australians, and achieve better outcomes for the community

Driving a multi-sector collaboration for countering online child sexual exploitation. To create systemic change at a societal level and solve a wicked problem like online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), we need to understand and consider all people involved in the ecosystem. This talk explores the required sensitivity and strength in doing so: how robust research and strategic design can lead to responsible investment and ecosystem mobilisation; and how it helped a newly set up NFP organisation and manager of the Child Protection Fund (CPF) define, refine and maximise social impact.

We crave connection at every age – including our golden years. Technology has amplified our ability to connect on a global scale, but older users have been largely left behind. We’ll share what Ryman Healthcare and Journey Digital learnt when designing an app for a diverse group of users with an average age of 80.

Inclusive Design has emerged as a global practice, but what are the benefits of incorporating its principles into design practices in Australia? In this presentation, I will define what Inclusive Design is and what it isn’t, highlight common misconceptions and explore the benefits Inclusive Design brings to businesses and users. The audience will walk away with a better understanding of the global inclusive design movement, and everyday practices they can implement tomorrow to make more inclusive and accessible products, services and spaces.

While we often focus on users and the products that deliver value to them, nothing would exist if it wasn't for the organizations that make these products. If we look at organizations under a product lens, we have a system that grows and evolves in time, fulfilling its ultimate goal: delivering a product or service for its users. But how does this system grow? This is often left to individuals to figure it out, a lot of frameworks focus on the "ideal state" and not on the change to get us there. By understanding that organizations are living systems and not static structures we can break the illusion of the "ideal team" and "ideal company" and focus instead on the pragmatic goal: managing meaningful change that creates more efficient organizations that benefit employees and, ultimately, users. Because let's be clear: no organization ever fits any ideal model. In this talk we are going to see how we can use our skills to approach meaningful and direct change in organizations, through processes, culture, and ultimately, the wellbeing of all the people that make things happen.

When tackling complex problems it can be difficult to know where to begin but usually we want to start with what will deliver the most value. Unfortunately value can be difficult to pinpoint often due to lack of data but this is where design research can shine. In this session we will explore a structured approach to valuing opportunities, making it easier to calculate and communicate value to your stakeholders.

Ever wondered how tech companies like Zendesk conducts research for to help determine future directions, particularly in new product areas like bots and automation. In the realm of customer service, automation is often thought of as deflection. We don’t often think of opportunities for people to help themselves and having customer support specialists get really hands-on and unblock more complicated situations. This talk covers how we collaborated with a global team and customer base to drive the direction and the future of customer support. We will cover some of the challenges faced when researching green-field products and share how we handled: * How to position and get buy-in with strategic research when the stakes are high & pressure to deliver is high * Coming to an agreed outcome when there are opposing and diverse viewpoints from the stakeholders. * Getting consensus on what is the most important thing to tackle next using an evidence based and data-driven approach.

The presentation will provide resources to make presenting research results more engaging. Incorporating infographics resources into presentations is an excellent way to generate an impactful narrative while presenting much information in an easy-to-absorb format.

We've all been there; a mixed methodology research assignment inclusive of behavioral, attitudinal, qualitative and quantitative packed full of customer insights ready to change the world... only for that Powerpoint to sit in an executives inbox for months on end, ignored or overlooked. How might we bring the value back to research reporting? By bringing humans together to understand research outcomes in a workshop rather than a report, we make our insights relevant and valuable. Strategy comes to the fore, and human connection and empathy direct to those that need to hear it... and take away what is most valuable; the change it needs to be.

Scattered research write-ups, a heap of new employees, and everyone is WFH. When even the researchers are saying “hey, where’s that report about xyz we wrote last week?”, it’s time to get organised with a research repository - though we have no budget and no new tools. I’ll be sharing the story and pitfalls of how we built a repository on a shoestring, to raise awareness and improve access to research in the business, with minimal admin overhead (the real holy grail).

Design research is generally discussed in the context of gaining a better, deeper understanding of the needs, behaviours and motivations of individuals and groups. Typically, these people are viewed as being outside of, or separate from the organisation responsible, or interested in, responding to those needs. In his 2010 book on Innovation, Disrupt, Luke Williams speaks of the power of understanding tensions experienced by individuals as a means of sparking innovative ideas. Organisational Tensions provide similar insight and serve a similar role when engaging in strategic design activities. Like individuals, organisations undergo tension as a result of internal and external forces; the misalignment between systems and needs; and the changing expectations of customers and staff in relation to the work of the organisation. This presentation will look at the ways in which organisational tensions can be identified; look at some examples of tensions; and look at a case study from the State Library of Victoria.

Democratization is something few of us would choose if we had alternatives. We would want budget and headcount to grow the UX Research department. A team stretched thin is told not only to let anybody do some or all of their jobs, but that they will need to train and oversee this work.

We use design research to improve products and services, but how often do we consider the user experience of participating in research? This presentation will explore how to embed accessibility and inclusion in design research practices so that everyone can feel welcome. In doing so, you’ll find richer insights and reach broader, underserved communities.

Let me ask you this - How certain are you that the product, service, feature that you researched, is delivering positive outcomes for people in the real world? Is it working the way you said it would work? When did you last check? Human-centred design practices enable evidence-led decision making. The assumed outcome of this practice is that we build everyday products and services that enhance people’s lives, support positive behaviours and contribute to communities in a meaningful way. But, without effective evaluation, we can’t be sure if what we designed is working the way we said it would. In this presentation, learn how to measure what matters and understand if outcomes are being achieved.

Exploring the aftermath of enforced behaviour change (from Covid-19) on younger people’s habits, identity and behaviour and understanding what it means for the ABC as we deliver audience informed digital experiences. Over the last 2.5 years, people across Australia, and much of the world, endured a period of enforced behaviour change, that radically changed how we lived, socialised and worked. These changes intensified many people’s relationships with digital products and technology, with the ABC benefitting from this voracious appetite to be informed, educated and entertained. But as the regulations, norms and guidelines that dominated our lives during Covid-19 disappear, come and learn how this rare event impacted audiences' habits, behaviours, wellbeing and decisions and what it means for the ABC as we deliver audience informed digital experiences.

How to gain rich, valuable insights to help you truly understand your customers. You might be comfortable designing based on data, but how rich and robust is that data? In this talk you’ll learn how to conduct meaningful research in a fast, easy and more effective way. It will explore ways to plan and run research, so you can gather unique, valuable and actionable insights. Come along to master the tools and methods you need to improve your design research practice so you can create rave-worthy experiences for your customers.

Anthropology’s, and by extension Ethnography’s remit is frequently defined as asking the question, 'what does it mean to be human'? But, what if humans were not at the centre of what we do? Solving global issues and promoting systemic change, means changing not just the inputs but also our point of view.

Children are often seen but not heard in the design process. How can you look at them more as co-creators than consumers for your product or service? This talk will help you to understand working with child-centred design mindset in startup or company. As a design for children rights advocate Saloni will explain her own framework as she learnt and unlearnt listening to children’s voices and designing with them.

The good, the bad and the complex: appreciating complexity through frontline UXR During this presentation, I will delve into the challenges I faced while transitioning from researching consumer products to products used by expert users. I will share how the typical research process gave me limited kind of work I could do and how opening up to rethinking research processes helped me see how far research can go.

When were the concepts behind the double diamond invented? When was the first 'how might we' question asked? When did people start 'brainstorming'? The answers are all in a 30 year period after the end of World War 2, when parallel intellectual movements centred around creating scientific methodologies for creativity and design thrived in America and the UK. Many of the ideas, principles, and design processes of that age are still with us today. In this talk, we will do more than describe yet another design process model - we will explore the historical and cultural origins of the design and creativity methods that are still common in design, and interrogate how those origins could be embedding biased assumptions in the work we do today.

As designer leaders, we want to be able to make wise decisions and we want to draw on wisdom to guide us as we lead our teams and design in organisations. Fortunately we don’t have to wait until we are old and grey to access wisdom; it can be experienced through ways of thinking and acting. In this talk we will explore what wisdom is made up of (according to research )and how we as design leaders can use aspects of wisdom now.

Lessons learnt from 20 years establishing and scaling Design-led Innovation at a team, organisation and country level.

Many of us have taken for granted the ability of our teams to show up for work with energy, positivity and a willingness to jump into a room with several other humans for days at a time to swarm on a design challenge. This is not true anymore. Leading design teams in the context of ‘the new normal’ (hybrid teams, fully remote, new resilience challenges) requires us to really understand the principles of design thinking, while re-evaluating some of the practices. In doing this, I have seen an opportunity for deeper empathy, more global collaboration, and found new ways to foster creativity to add to our toolkit of in-person methods.

We continue to see more and more organisations prioritise employee engagement and strengthening their Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Whilst there is no 'one size fits all' answer when it comes to building and scaling an empowered and engaged team - prioritising people over process is key to growth. Gain insights and a practical approach to apply with your teams in an ever-changing landscape.

Is money the only way to recruit and retain staff? There are more factors than money that an employer can use for both retaining and hiring designers. Using Daniel Pink’s model of mastery, autonomy and purpose, I will go through ways to craft roles and packages that will appeal to the market.

Design hiring is broken. And with The Great Resignation and Remote Jobs Boom, we’re in the most competitive recruiting market of our lifetimes. A radically transparent approach earns designers’ trust, speeds up your hiring cycles, and helps all candidates perform their best

When we think of “users” we often confine their identities to how they’re interacting with our products and services. But how might we understand their mental models of the world and how those behaviors translate into the experiences we deliver? In this session, we’ll explore ethnographic and visual methods for continuous research, the role of language and metaphors in survey design, and actionable strategies to develop meaningful, adaptable products.

Traditional leadership styles are centred on Eurocentric concepts of authority figures influencing and guiding through the organisation to achieve their ends. SEVA leadership challenges this concept to create a new paradigm that integrates concepts of communal wellbeing, equality, and inclusiveness through service. Based on the Sikh concept of ‘Seva’ or ‘Sewa’,, there are three facets to SEVA Leadership: tan, man and dhan—physical, emotional and material service. ‘The SEVA Wheel’ is a simple, easy to apply design framework that offers a new perspective on how to embrace transformative, holistic, leadership for individuals, communities, and organisations to prosper.

One of the biggest challenges for design leaders today, is creating cultures of trust & authenticity that allows people to thrive. Feelings are the most under-utilised tool we all have to shape culture. Carolyn will explore through her own experiences, how acknowledging and utilising feelings has guided her & the team at Creatable to create more impactful experiences for our people and our users.

How do we set our future design leaders up for success now and not leave until they become a design leader? Our talk will share how our trials and tribulations of challenging the norm of a leadership team, to ensure we stay true to our principles and break the mold for inclusion.

Designing practices for hybrid and flexible teams requires a very clear understanding of what must be consistent and what can be flexible. In this presentation I will draw on some specific case studies and stories from my time as both a researcher and consultant in business process design and work practice. As researchers we talk about a desire to make our findings relevant to industry and as consultants, managers and leaders we talk about drawing on evidence. Over the last 7 years I have been wearing both of those hats simultaneously and it has had tremendous benefits for both my research and my consulting practice.

In a complex and uncertain world, businesses have focused on the importance of 'telling a good story' to cut through the noise. But how can designers use storytelling to inform their day-to-day work? Not just when crafting presentations or communicating to clients, but within the DNA of our digital products. In this talk, we'll take proven narrative structures and apply them to the new world of websites, apps and emerging technologies. UXA2022 Day 2

Scaling UX Culture. UXA Day 2

Defending design: writing to influence UXA Day 2

Do you squirm in your seat when asked to introduce yourself? Do you find networking awkward and embarrassing? In meetings, do you find yourself keeping quiet even though you have something to say? Does a quiet evening at home with a book sound more attractive to you than an evening socialising with people you’ve never met? If your answer to most of these questions is yes, congratulations: you are (probably) an introvert. As an introvert, you lose energy when engaging with people rather than gain. People engagement is not optional if you want to lead. So how do you lead as an introvert? In this talk, Tim Yeo will share techniques he's used to manage his own introversion in order to lead as a designer. He'll also share power tips he's learned leading a fully remote global team during coronavirus isolation that play to an introvert's strengths. UXA2022 Day 2

Death to “best practice”: The journey to cohesive design practice at scale. UXA2022 Day 2

Inclusive design for cognitive disabilities, neurodiversity, and chronic illness. UXA2022 Day 1

UX Australia Day 1 How Enterprise Software Can be Saved by UX Research and Service Design.